Rick Carlisle Threatens Struggling Dallas Mavericks With Suspensions

The Dallas Mavericks have lost six in a row and 19 overall, many of them in humiliating fashion. Head coach Rick Carlisle is so frustrated by the losing that he may start suspending some of his players. Per the Dallas Morning News: “After another in a long line of embarrassing losses, this time 111-86 to San Antonio at American Airlines Center, the Mavericks are ticked off. All of them. That’s six losses in a row and nine in the last 10 games. They have gotten hammered twice in the last week by the Spurs by a total of 63 points. ‘We’ve got to fight harder than we did tonight,’ Carlisle said after the game. ‘It’s not what this organization has been about since Mark [Cuban] bought the team. This is a stretch that’s unprecedented, really. It’s bad. We’ve got to fix it, and it starts with me.’ […] ‘I [have] to be inventive and find ways,’ he said. ‘I don’t have a better answer than that. The last week, I’ve had to literally scream in the face of two guys in practices and shootarounds to get the point across. And I will continue to do that. If I have to start suspending guys for not doing things they’re supposed to be doing on the court, I’ll do it. And Mark and I will get into it about that. But somehow, things have got to change and it can’t just be about that it’s a tough schedule. It just can’t.’ The threat of suspension is probably hollow. But the point isn’t. Playing time is about the only weapon a coach has to get a player’s attention. And the Mavericks now have lost eight times this season by 20 points or worse and another time by 19. […] ‘We [have] to get some dog in us, some fight in us right now,’ Shawn Marion said. ‘At times, we look good and it’s going good and at times it’s not. Right now, the times it’s not outweigh the times it’s good. That’s what’s happening. We got to find a way to get it going because this [stinks].'”